Cy-Fair Berry Stadium

[TJones]

I'm not that impressed by the stadium. The architectural design is weak. It's basically the same old same old with a pompous looking front entrance face. They build it way out in the middle of nowhere, and it serves a huge geographical area, so no particular community will be able to "be proud of it". The whole "brick" look with educational/athletic buildings these days is getting really tired, especially with new high school designs.

Have you actually been by this thing, I guarantee you'll "OOOOOOOOO !" and "AAAAHHHHH !" If you have ever played sports. This is state of the art for High School level. There are colleges that would kill for these amenities.

BTW, Filio, you obviously never played in any type of organized sports or school band, they do nothing BUT promote the idea of "TEAM" and that it takes a "TEAM" to win. That you sacrifice for the "TEAM". I guess your chess club didn't preach such understandings. It happens, chess really isnt a team sport. Don't try to tell me Team sports and Band doesn't have any benefits, I played organized football for 16 years. Baseball for 10, Basketball for 5 and Track for 4 years. I have also coached little league, and although you have "All-Stars" on every team, it is not the effort of ONE individual that gets you to the Championship.

[Trae]

^^Hell yeah, Katy I.S.D. needs to revamp Rhodes Stadium.

[RedScare]

BTW, Filio, you obviously never played in any type of organized sports or school band, they do nothing BUT promote the idea of "TEAM" and that it takes a "TEAM" to win. That you sacrifice for the "TEAM". I guess your chess club didn't preach such understandings. It happens, chess really isnt a team sport. Don't try to tell me Team sports and Band doesn't have any benefits, I played organized football for 16 years. Baseball for 10, Basketball for 5 and Track for 4 years. I have also coached little league, and although you have "All-Stars" on every team, it is not the effort of ONE individual that gets you to the Championship.

Sure sounds a lot like the definition of Communism. How un-american.

[TJones]

Sure sounds a lot like the definition of Communism. How un-american.

I always forget about the disgruntled waterboys. Sorry Red.

[RedScare]

I always forget about the disgruntled waterboys. Sorry Red.

Oh boy, is there where I get to brag about how many letters I earned in high school?

[TJones]

Oh boy, is there where I get to brag about how many letters I earned in high school?

I won't if you won't !

[brijonmang]

Oh boy, is there where I get to brag about how many letters I earned in high school?

I'm guessing varsity debate all four years?

[softballchick]

<<<<There is one thing I can predict with absolute certainty. You will never see the football team holding bake sales or sending players out selling candy door to door to raise money to buy uniforms and shoulder pads. Not in CyFair. No sir. They know what's important. The needs of first graders will never stand in the way of the football teams getting everything they need, and the fanciest and most expensive stadium in the whole state. Those first graders are just SOL and they can just fend for themselves. >>>>

I know I'm a little behind on this thread, but as someone who played varstity softball for four years in the cy-fair school district, I can assure you, there were MANY findraisers done by every sport. Maybe football didn't have bake sales, but they did their share. Booster clubs work their tails off to be able to afford things for certain sports. So before throwing something like this out there, do a little research. And as a softball player, I may not have gone door to door selling stuff, but I can assure you, there was a homerun derby done every year, and we got people to donate a certain amount per foot that the ball was hit. Yes, we did our fair share of raising money, as did the football team.

[GettaClue]

I think its pretty safe to say, they aren't hurting.

Hmmm. Then I wonder why they just laid off 72 para-professionals who assisted special ed children in the district. They claimed it was a necessary cost cutting move. Same with the crossing guard training classes. Now if a parent wants their child to be able to walk home for school, the parent must sign a waiver.

Interesting that CFISD can build monuments to itself but has to cut services which directly benefit its children.

Even more interesting the way that whole bond election was handled (limited polling places, lightly advertised, in conjunction with no other elections), so that the most likely voters were district employees and those in the construction fields and suppliers.

[mrfootball]

This could all be remedied if they ended Robin Hood.

[GettaClue]

Ending Robin Hood may do some good in some ways, but won't end "ego building" or stupid financial choices by school districts.

BTW, did everyone hear about the electric bill for the Berry Monstrosity? $40,000/mo I believe it was...and that was for a summer month when it was largely unoccupied. That could pay for the training of a few crossing guards and much, much more.

[invincible569]

I passed by the Berry Center last night and saw they were having a game driving off of Barker Cypress. It looked pretty occupied to me.

[Kam]

I passed by the Berry Center last night and saw they were having a game driving off of Barker Cypress. It looked pretty occupied to me.

They were more than likely having a football game.

[Chels]

Agreed...even more impressive from the ground. It's hard to get an idea of the sheer scale of this complex until you see it in person. For example. In the picture below...to get a sense of the scale, find the doors to the building at the top of the stairs:

I think the school funding issue goes much deeper than an argument about this facility. You must keep in mind that there are some 10 High Schools that will share 2 stadiums. This facility was built to encompass all of the District's (The 3rd largest School District in the state with over 85,000 students...and the ONLY 'RECOGNIZED' district of this size) special events, football, basketball, concerts, conventions, conferences, etc.

Additionally, Cy-Fair is a Recognized district because it doesn't cut corners and spends money for quality teachers, facilities, etc. It's a big district, second only in size to HISD and DISD...yet it's run a hell of a lot more efficiently.

I believe its extremely important to foster school spirit, parental involvement, community involvement, and broad-based extra-curricular activities. It promotes a healthier environment for the kids and the community.

Agreed...even more impressive from the ground. It's hard to get an idea of the sheer scale of this complex until you see it in person. For example. In the picture below...to get a sense of the scale, find the doors to the building at the top of the stairs:

I think the school funding issue goes much deeper than an argument about this facility. You must keep in mind that there are some 10 High Schools that will share 2 stadiums. This facility was built to encompass all of the District's (The 3rd largest School District in the state with over 85,000 students...and the ONLY 'RECOGNIZED' district of this size) special events, football, basketball, concerts, conventions, conferences, etc.

Additionally, Cy-Fair is a Recognized district because it doesn't cut corners and spends money for quality teachers, facilities, etc. It's a big district, second only in size to HISD and DISD...yet it's run a hell of a lot more efficiently.

I believe its extremely important to foster school spirit, parental involvement, community involvement, and broad-based extra-curricular activities. It promotes a healthier environment for the kids and the community.

i attend Northside i.s.d. in San Antonio + we have about the same amount of schools and students --we`re the largest growing district, also. We`re one of the largest + at a time, THE largest if not now, too. We just got a new sports complex recently but we don't feel the need to spend it on what we don't have to. Some of the things about that stadium's contruction [i.e. the front steps] are not needed. its awful to think that things like that are justified. schools are losing funding for fine arts and everything because people find it necessary to build things like that? sad.

[mrfootball]

On Sunday, I finally had a chance to see this facility up close and personal and might I say this facility is first class. Lots of nice touches from the stonework, tile and the quality materials inside and out all the way down to the Sony TV monitors throughout all of the concourses. Comfortable chairback seating throughout the stadium and arena (no bleachers). Large meeting facilities and conference rooms in this immense facility. Including a really nice theatre/auditorium. Very, very impressive facility.

[Mom22Blessings]

it is a nice place...unfortunately the tax payers are paying for it even more as of last night.

Yikes... another hike for taxes even when the state reduced the rate! I told my friend who lives in Stone Gate to go to the meeting last night but I guess she didn't need to since there were already 400 people there.....

[mrfootball]

How much was it raised? I think I heard 2.4 cents per $100 valuation?

[ENGcons]

That facility was built on Bond Money not Property taxes collected. Two entirely independant entities. Taxes were rasied in Cy Fair due to budget projections expecting property to be apprasied at a certain value by a certain year. When those projections fell short the district faced a budget shortfall.

Cy Fair's facilities have absolutly nothing to do with the tax increase becasue they were built with bond money which was passed by the voters. And you can not use bond money for any other purpose than it was approved on by yhr voters.

Side note, the proprty taxes in Klein were lowered from $1.72 per $1000, to $1.58 per $1000 at the last meeting. Nice job Klein School Board. And they are still building great new facilities to meet the districts need, all with Bond Money.

[mrfootball]

Cy-Fair's growth has been nothing but stratospheric over the past 10 years, and it continues to boom. There are going to be rough spots along the way. I'm glad they built the Berry Center. I'm also glad there's a new Watchdog group to provide another strong voice.

That Berry Center is nice, though. It's going to be a major asset to NW Harris County.

[Original Timmy Chan's]

That facility was built on Bond Money not Property taxes collected. Two entirely independant entities.

And what do you think bond debt is paid with? PROPERTY TAXES!

[RedScare]

Up until the new business tax was passed, the school district tax rates were capped at $1.50 per $100 valuation. Bond interest is an additional allowable expense. Cy-Fair's last tax rate was $1.80. $.30 of that was to pay bonds. So, a significant percentage of your property taxes are going to pay for the football stadium, among other things.

The board raised the tax rate another $.024 the other night. This apparently makes the new Cy-Fair tax rate $1.824. They could have raised it to $1.84, so I suppose this is cause for celebration in Cy-Fair. Perhaps they could have a parade at the Berry Center.

[Trae]

That Berry Center is nice. It reminds me alot of the Merrel Center in Katy. I think Rhode Stadium could get a facelift and look like the stadium up in Cy-Fair. I also get bad turf burn at Rhodes. My whole right arm is scraped.

[mrfootball]

I think a lot of the misconception is that it will just be for Athletics (which are an essentially important aspect of the high school experience involving thousands of kids from each school)...but half of the indoor facility is a really nice conference/meeting facility, it also has a performance hall and outstanding infrastructure. They'll be using this facility for concerts, conventions, special events, teacher development, church services, festivals, town hall style meetings, you name it.

If you ever set foot inside this thing, you'd be impressed that they were able to build all of that (football stadium, architectural facade, multi-tiered arena, conference facilities, performance hall, etc) for $80 million. With steel/construction prices as high as they are today, that same facility would cost $100 million if it were bidded out today.

Shortsighted people are dogging it for being a boondoggle, but this thing will be a tremendous asset. The long-term value will be repayed in spades. I applaud CFISD leaders for having the balls to build such a first-rate facility.

I am a CFISD taxpayer.

[RedScare]

Spoken like a true Democrat. I applaud your realization that government spending improves the lives of its citizens. Higher taxes are necessary for the community to improve itself.

If you have any trouble explaining this enlightened theory of government to your Northwestern Harris County neighbors, just let me know. I will be glad to help.

[mrfootball]

True Democrat? No.

Just a common sense observation, as a taxpayer in CFISD.

Regardless, as with everything, there's a balance that needs to be struck. I've no problem with the Berry Center, as I know it opens up a great deal of new possibilities for this community (if used correctly). Spending is necessary...of course that doesn't mean that ALL spending is necessary. At least with this, we can SEE what we've paid for, and take pride in it being the finest facility of its kind in the nation.

It's like the glitzy arena that was built at Texas Tech in Lubbock. At the time, people were complaining that it was "too nice" and they didn't need to spend so much money on it. Of course, that arena later helped bring in legendary coach Bob Knight, and now Lubbock gets an impressive slate of major concert tours (Elton John, KISS, Pearl Jam, Dixie Chicks, Eagles, Aerosmith, Metallica, etc). The arena has become a major asset to that city of 200,000 (CFISD has a population of 750,000).

[ENGcons]

And what do you think bond debt is paid with? PROPERTY TAXES!

Well I guess Cy Fair residents will think twice when the next Bond Election takes place. I guess the residents of Cy Fair have no one really to blame but themselves. They passed the bonds, and they elected the school board members.

It sounds like, "I want to live in Cy Fair where the schools are great and the educational facilities are the best, but I really don't want to pay for these things." Cry me a freakin river.

[chamberscreek]

Actually, I would argue that Cy-Fair residents didn't KNOW what they were voting for when they passed the bond election. If you took 50 people over to the Berry Center complex today and asked each one, "What do you see?", I'd argue that at least 40 of them would say "an athletic complex." Yet the facility was consistently referred to pre-election as simply an Educational Support Center. IMHO, a concerted effort was put forth to downplay, if not hide, the athletic facilities portion of the project. That's what irks me -- have the guts to call it what it is. Whether the facility was necessary or extravagant is a different question altogether.

I have tried to find the support materials originally provided before the 2001 bond election, but they seem to have been removed from the Cy-Fair ISD Web site. Anyone know how those can be located?

[mrfootball]

We sure got snookered into getting the finest athletic complex in the nation.

With that said, there's significant conference and meeting space built into that building. It's huge.

While I'm all for accountability, I think they did a terrific job on this facility.

[Trae]

At least with this, we can SEE what we've paid for, and take pride in it being the finest facility of its kind in the nation.

You know this how? I think you meant Houston area.

[mrfootball]

Trae, there isn't another high school facility in the country that compares to this. Midland has a nice complex, but it still doesn't compare. Frisco's is nice, but still doesn't compare. Merrell center is real nice, but again, it doesn't compare. Tulsa Union's is nice, but it doesn't compare.